Tag Archives: happy beard

Sometimes, when the Ladies of Beards of Denver happen upon an amazing beard, it feels as if we’ve been saved. Which is why when we met Adam whilst sippin’ brews and sitting in a 1974 craft beer bus called the Beerliner in October during the Great American Beer Festival, we felt like we’d truly seen the light. After all, Adam, who hails from Ft. Worth, Texas, has been growing his beard for four years, and hasn’t even trimmed it once (though he has touched up his moustache) and we do believe Jesus himself might be envious of Adam’s holier-than-thou beard. Adam prefers to go au naturel when caring for his beard, washing it as infrequently as possible, and he doesn’t comb it all that much, which gives his beard its unwieldy delightful nature. When asked if people accost him to caress his beard, Adam said he can fend off most admirers since he’s a lot taller than most people, but he does make the ladies work for it if they make the request. Adam, who was one of the more humble beards we’ve encountered, said he didn’t grow his beard for attention but receives it anyway (which we think is rather well-deserved). When asked whether his sweetheart likes his beard, Adam told us he was recently un-engaged, and enjoying a new sense of freedom. The ladies of Texas better be ready, they are certainly in for a treat! When not growing out his magnificent beard, Adam brews beer at the Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub in Fort Worth. We’ll be sure to stop by the next time we’re in the Lone Star state to sample the brews and check out Adam’s beard progress! We have a feeling his beard is still going to go a long way.

You’re especially lucky today, Beards of Denver loyalists, because we’re bringing you a beard that will make you breathe easier–literally and figuratively. We met Mark while we were awaiting entry into the Great American Beer Festival in October, and we couldn’t have been more pleased to make his acquaintance. Mark started this version of his great beard journey in October of 2012 when he lost his job, but he’s had a beard the better part of the past 12 years (as you can expect, Mark is quite the wise man). Mark, who now works at the Pima Medical Institute teaching in the Respiratory Therapy department, has been growing his beard ever since he started his gig there last year, and his boss is one of his biggest supporters. His wife and daughter, however, are not exactly fans of his beard, which, of course, we find astonishing. Mark says that doesn’t deter his dedication to his beard growth, it just means a little less lovin’ from his sweetheart. If you look closely, you can see Mark braided the pretzels into his beard for GABF, which is his own handiwork; his wife wouldn’t help him as a form of protest. Even with her dislike of his manly mane, their marriage is going on 14 years strong! We hope his beard has at least a little to do with that great success. Mark, who lives in Highlands Ranch, says he gets lots of comments on his beard, especially from other bearded brothers “It’s like a beard fraternity,” he told us. One we’d proudly pledge, Mark! We hope all those pretzels came in handy at GABF.

The ladies of Beards of Denver always feel fortunate when we are lucky enough to meet a new (to us) bearded Denver gentleman, and we always have a hunch when we visit one of our fair city’s wonderful breweries that Lady Bearded Luck is a bit more likely to smile upon us. Such was the case on a recent fall night in Denver, where we happened upon Kyle and his fiery-gingerbeard as we were walking into Black Shirt Brewing in RiNo neighborhood. Kyle, who is originally from Mississippi, lives in North City Park with his lovely sweetheart Erin and their dog Belle. His glorious beard originates from the fact that he’s not very good at shaving, and he noted “Everybody loves it.” And how could you not love such a beard with that captivating red hue? Kyle’s redbeard is even more fitting when we found out he works at Fire on the Mountain in Highlands, our favorite wings spot in the city (and a mecca to find many impressive beards to admire). In addition to Kyle’s dedication to his beard, he has major allegiance to D-Town, proudly stating, “What other cities compare to Denver?? San Fran is cool, but it’s NOT Denver.” We couldn’t agree more Kyle. You and that fantastic beard of yours best never leave!

Well, ladies and our ever-loved bearded gentlemen, it’s been a wonderful, wild, and exciting ride documenting the Bewitching Bearded Boys of Denver for you the past year! It’s hard for us to believe that 365 days have passed since we cemented our friendship and embarked on our poetic, and most favorite, journey yet: That of bringing the bearded (and occasionally) mustachioed love to you. Thanks to all of the bearded fans out there, our fabulous beard correspondents, and most importantly the bearded men of Denver who bring so much joy to our fuzzy-burly-beard-lovin’ hearts. Our emergence as pogonologists would not have been possible without you! We can’t wait to bring you more whiskered wonder in the next year to come. Cheers and Beards!Kate and Leah

Occasionally, the ladies of Beards of Denver spread their wings and head out on a beard hunt in foreign lands. In September, adventures took the ladies of B of D away from our haven of landlocked mountain majesty to the ocean-enveloped locale dubbed St. Augustine, Florida to attend the Gentleman of the Road music tour and see Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Justin Townes Earle, & many other fabulous musicians perform. With an event dubbed “Gentleman of the Road” you may not be surprised to learn there were a plethora of bearded concert-goers, including Ross, pictured here with Stephanie, a dear friend of the Ladies of B of D. And since both gingerbeards and true gingers are particularly close to our hearts here at Beards of Denver, we couldn’t resist posting these two firery redheads together! Ross, who hails from the panhandle of Florida, has been growing his red-bearded mane for nearly a year. A Certified Public Account for Warren Averett, he dedicated much of his Christmas break in 2012 to the beginnings of his beard, and we can’t think of a better holiday gift to the world than an increase in the number of gingerbeards. Luckily for the universe, Ross’ place of employment welcomed his beard with open arms when he returned to work after the holiday season. Ross’ lovely wife Brianne wasn’t a fan of his beard initially but now has fully gotten on board to support his beard. If Ross and Anne could drive six hours for a weekend of music, we have no doubt Ross’ beard dedication will last for several years into the future. Thanks Ross! We like Florida more now.

The Ladies of Beards of Denver are always ready, willing, and able to meet an impressive bearded man, but it was a first to meet a fabulous bearded man whose name IS Ready, but that’s just what we’ve got for you today. Ready, who we encountered at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver while waiting for the band Shel to perform, proudly declared that he hasn’t shaved in five or six years, hence his burly mane. His beard is generated largely from laziness, and we don’t mind one bit. Ready said he can easily keep his beard long and luxurious because he’s been traveling so much: he lives in upstate New York and was visiting Denver to attend all three Phish shows at the end of August, and then was planning to head to South America. When asked his mom’s opinion of his beard, Ready shared that she doesn’t like it much because she thinks it makes him look “old and scruffy.” Move to Denver, Ready, where the beard love is unabashed and literally ready to embrace you!

Here in Denver, we are fortunate for so many reasons. We have tons of breweries from which to sample so much frothy deliciousness; we are able to get around on bikes almost anywhere in our wonderful city; and every night of the week there are a multitude of great live music choices to see. It is at one of our favorite venues, the Larimer Lounge, where we met Nate and his stop-you-in-your-tracks beard. We were there to see two wonderful bands–Shel out of Fort Collins and Whiskey Shivers out of Austin–and were pleasantly surprised to meet Nate between sets. Nate has been growing his amazing mane on and off since 2004, and has lived in Denver about 13 years. When he’s not playing the role of volunteer roadie for Shel he works at Renegade Publik House in Denver, which features many of the aforementioned delicious brews. Nate said his mom has a love/hate relationship with his beard (clearly we need to get her over to our side of pure appreciation) and–get ready for this ladies–he has no sweetheart!? With a beard like this and that much dapper style, that won’t be the case for long. Thanks Nate! We’ll be by Renegade to see you, and admire that beard of yours, soon!

We met up with J. about a month ago at one of our favorite beard hunting grounds in the city: Goosetown Tavern. Not only does J. rock an amazingly impressive beard (and awesome “Keep Denver Beard” t-shirt), he is also a complete and delightful southern Mississippi gentleman to boot. And J. isn’t an alias; he was named after his dad’s best friend J.P. and has gone by J. his entire life. He originally moved to Denver a few years ago from Mississippi to attend culinary school, and now works at the multiple (and delicious) Moe’s BBQ locations, where they are very welcoming of beard culture (and Makers Mark shots, which we approve of, naturally). This is the first time J. has grown his beard this long, and he said his roommate had one and that was part of the inspiration to grow his out. While his mom isn’t his beard’s biggest fan, he does believe his dad has some Beard Envy (and we can see why!) J.’s an Eagle Scout from back in the day, and if we had any say, he’d definitely earn the badge for Bad-Ass Beard! Keep up the great beard work J.!

Who knew spirits and beards went so well together? The ladies of Beards of Denver, that’s who. A few months back at the D-Still spirit-tasting event in Denver (during the American Distilling Institute conference), we were lucky enough to happen upon Gary Hinegardner and his son Jeremy and their amazing father/son beards’ combo. The elder Hinegardner, who lives in Montgomery City, Missouri, with his wife, Katy, dabbles in making spirits (gin, whiskey, and vodka) and also makes the impressive wooden hats Jeremy is modeling here.Jeremy, who has called Boulder home since 2000, runs his own company called Copious Free Time, where he helps people solve complex technology problems. Jeremy used to only have a goatee (for shame!) and after attending a conference in Ireland last year (where attendees were asked to grow out their beards; sounds like a great conference) he smartly decided to stay on the beard-path. Gary has had a beard or ‘stache most of his adult life (wise man indeed) and he was a wood turner for a long time before he decided to learn how to make wooden hats, and now, spirits. His distillery is in New Florence, Missouri and he plans to let his beard continue to grow as he pursues his newest passion. Check out Gary’s distillery both here and here. Thanks for keeping beards in the family, guys!

This may come as a shock (or perhaps, not a shock at all) but distilling and great beards tend to go hand-in-hand. So when the ladies of Beards of Denver volunteered at the American Distilling Institute conference in Denver recently, we were pleased to meet Brandon, who works at Copper Run Distillery in Branson, Missouri. Whoever thinks Branson just has cheeky stage shows and buses of retirees frequenting it is wrong; it also has its share of men with impressive beards and great distilleries! Going back about five years, Brandon has been growing out his beard at least every winter, with his current beard at a year. When he distills, he often braids his beard and tucks it back, which we were happy to hear; we don’t want to know of any beard accidents in the workplace! When he’s not making moonshine, Brandon’s playing bluegrass music in the Ozarks with his band the Shotgun Brothers (which, not surprisingly, originates form shot-gunning some brews). Brandon has an 8-year old daughter who LOVES his beard and encourages him to enter regional beard competitions; smart little lady, even at age 8! Brandon admitted he does the competitions to make her happy and to get together and have some libations and raise money for charity; we love that honesty in a fantastic beard! Thanks Brandon, and keep that whiskey flowing for us!